[Talk-us] Forums/email lists for OSM Discussions

[Zeke Farwell]

I prefer open source options whenever possible, but I'll use whatever gets
the job done.  There could be a great open source Slack alternative, but if
only a small number of people can be convinced to use it that doesn't
really matter.  I'll go where the people I need to communicate with are
because that's the whole job of the software.  For those who feel strongly
about this issue please see these OSM operations github threads where
several existing Slack alternatives have been discussed for the past five
years, but no one has stepped up to make it happen yet
https://github.com/openstreetmap/operations/issues/128
https://github.com/openstreetmap/operations/issues/380


On Tue, Oct 12, 2021 at 10:58 PM Shawn K. Quinn <skquinn at rushpost.com>
wrote:

> On 10/12/21 16:58, brad haack wrote:
> > I'm in the anti Slack camp.  I don't use Slack for anything else.  I
> > don't want to use it for this either when we have better options. We
> > have mailing lists, the wiki, and the forum.    I never got the memo
> > that Slack was the main discussion app. Based on this thread there is
> > obviously no consensus right now to use Slack as the prime discussion
> > media.
>
> My issues with Slack are that it is a proprietary  protocol,
> gratuitously incompatible with things like IRC and intentionally not
> able to easily be interfaced with most free software. I am on two Slack
> servers  that don't offer any alternatives to stay connected to the
> community, and I am looking forward to the day I  can drop that number
> to zero.
>
> [From SteveA:]
>
> > I have referred to Slack as a "secret sauce walkie-talkie" before
> > and do not use it at all, neither for OSM communication /
> > collaboration nor any other purpose.  Why?  Because it seems (to me,
> > obviously not others) that something proprietary and requiring a
> > legal agreement with an onerous license (UNlike ODbL which is
> > sensible and not onerous) is inconsistent with the spirit of OSM.
> > That said, it does appear that many use Slack for OSM collaboration,
> > and because I appear to be a "refusenik" regarding Slack, I miss out
> > on what is communicated via its closed platform.  Frederick is
> > correct ("whichever medium you choose you'll exclude some
> > people..."), but he doesn't have to be correct forever in this
> > regard.
>
> I concur that it is quite anti-thematic for a project like OpenStreetMap
> to be using something like Slack. (Honestly, the same could be said for
> projects like WordPress as well, but that is a whole 'nother rant.) If
> Slack was an open protocol, with alternative clients available as free
> software, and not so rigidly glued to what Slack, Inc. itself puts out
> as an official client, this would be far less of an issue.
>
> Not quoted, but I saw the mention of Jitsi / Jitsi Meet in the thread as
> well. How hard would it be to hack/repurpose an IRC daemon and client to
> make our own analog to Slack?
>
> --
> Shawn K. Quinn <skquinn at rushpost.com>
> http://www.rantroulette.com
> http://www.skqrecordquest.com
>
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